Braving the Storm
by LilyDraken
Summary: A cute OneShot between Sasuke and Itachi set during Sasuke's early childhood. R&R.


_**Disclaimer**: Not mine, though I wish… _

**Braving the Storm**

By: Lily Draken

The flashing lightning was the only thing illuminating the otherwise dark room. The room itself was small and plain, furnished with only a desk, dresser, night table and a bed. In the bed, curled into a ball and trembling beneath the covers, was a young dark haired boy of five. Another flash of lightning lit the room, followed by a large crash of thunder.

A terrified squeal escaped his lips and he tore off the blankets he was buried underneath, running as quickly as his legs could carry him to the room across the hall.

"Nii-san!" he cried desperately, approaching the bed and tugging frantically on his elder brother's arm. "Nii-san!"

"What is it, Sasuke?" Itachi asked blandly, clearly annoyed at having been bothered. In truth, the storm had woken him up half an hour ago. It was impossible to sleep through the thunder, booming enough to rattle the entire house. He'd been staring at his ceiling, contemplating the mission he'd be going on in the morning, his first B-rank mission. Sleep had been elusive to begin with, the storm had woken him and now the last thing he wanted to deal with was his younger sibling's whining.

"Nii-san, I'm scared," Sasuke said, a fright-filled pout on his face.

"Go crawl in bed with Okaa-san then," Itachi said, rolling over onto his side, his back to Sasuke.

"But Otou-san will get mad," Sasuke replied. "He said I need to be braver and shouldn't be afraid of thunderstorms."

"Then you should follow Otou-san's order and go back to bed," Itachi said over his shoulder, giving Sasuke a harsh look.

Tears began to fill Sasuke's eyes, his lower lip quivering. "But... but..." Another clap of thunder rattled the walls and floor. Sasuke screamed, covering his head as he squatted on his knees, ready to dash under the bed.

"Come here," Itachi said sternly, pulling back the blankets for Sasuke to crawl in. He realized that if Sasuke didn't calm down, their father would get angry, putting him in a foul mood in the morning which he would no doubt take out on Itachi. Sasuke looked up from the side of the bed with wide eyes. "Are you coming or not?"

Sasuke nodded and jumped into the bed, making himself as small as possible. Itachi pulled the blankets back up and lay on his back, hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling once more.

BOOM. Sasuke threw himself at Itachi, wrapping his arms tightly around his brother, burying his face in Itachi's neck. Itachi waited a moment before saying, "Sasuke, you can let go now."

"Nnn," he mumbled, shaking his head, burrowing himself more closely against Itachi.

Itachi sighed. He pushed Sasuke away to readjust himself, holding his arm out for Sasuke to lie against him in a half-embrace. Sasuke looked at him in disbelief. "Come on," Itachi said forcefully, "before I change my mind."

Sasuke did not have to be told twice. He curled up against him, wrapping his small arms around his brother. He immediately began to relax, feeling the steady rise and fall of Itachi's chest. He concentrated on his own breathing until he matched his brother's in perfect unison.

Itachi could feel a smirk playing at the corner of his lips, well aware of Sasuke's little breathing exercise. He found it amusing that Sasuke wanted to be so close and yet tried so hard to be invisible. Or perhaps it was emulation of his idol. The smirk widened.

Another flash of light and loud clap of thunder caused a small squeak to pass Sasuke's lips, but the reassuring squeeze around his shoulders calmed him. "There's nothing to be afraid of, Sasuke," Itachi said, with a softness that surprised even himself.

"Nii-san?" Sasuke asked quietly. When Itachi didn't reply, he continued, "Were you ever afraid of thunder?"

It was an interesting question, Itachi mused, and one only Sasuke would ever think to ask. "I suppose when I was very young," he replied, "but once I found out what causes storms, it wasn't frightening anymore."

He turned his head to glance down at the wide eyes staring back up at him. "What causes it?" Lightning flashed again outside, followed more distantly by the inevitable thunder.

"It's a static discharge in the air which causes light and sound. The lightning is the electricity released into the air, and the thunder is the result of the lightning disturbing the atmosphere. You can tell how far away the storm is by how far apart the lightning is from the thunder."

"How?" Sasuke pressed, clearly impressed by his brother's scientific genius.

"Well light moves faster than sound. If lightning causes the thunder, but it takes a long time to hear the thunder after seeing lightning, then the storm is far away. When you see lightning and hear the thunder immediately, that means the storm is very close."

"Wow…" Sasuke whispered, clearly awed.

Another flash of lightning lit the room, followed shortly after by a softer, more distant rumbling. "See, it's already moving away now," Itachi stated.

Indeed the storm was on its way, but Sasuke showed no signs of removing himself. Quite the contrary, he burrowed himself in deeper against Itachi, snuggling in. Feeling the small, warm body so firmly against his own, Itachi couldn't help but feel a sense of power and control. He also felt extreme protectiveness. Sasuke was young, and weak, but he would grow to be strong and independent; Itachi would make sure of it. But in the meantime…

Sasuke had already fallen asleep. Ordinarily he would have already kicked Sasuke out by now and sent him back to his own bed, or at the very least carried his slumbering sibling back to his own room so he could have his bed to himself and sleep in peace. But this night… just for tonight, he would allow Sasuke to stay. He lightly pushed back dark bangs and watched Sasuke's peaceful features for a while before his own eyelids grew heavy and sleep finally overtook him as well.


End file.
